Warner offers New Concept for DVD Collectors

Good news here for the most devoted, hard-core movie geeks out there. Warner Brothers has announced a grand new concept they will be rolling out for the serious connoisseurs of classic cinema. Aptly named the Warner Archive Collection, the studio will be offering 150 never-before-available films on DVD on a custom ordering basis.

In other words, Warner Brothers will have an online virtual vault of these not-quite-lost films in which fans/collectors can browse, select a title(s) and the studio will actually burn and package a copy and send it to become a part of your beloved collection, all for about $19.95 and takes about five days.

This is a great idea and surprisingly ingenious and consumer-friendly from a major studio. For the customer, it offers a whole new selection of titles as well as a fun new experience for collectors. For the studio, it eliminates the need for up-front massive production of inventory that may or may not sell. The individual DVDs literally aren’t produced until they’ve been paid for.

The website for this wonderful new outlet is WarnerArchive.com and currently features such titles as William Conrad’s ‘Brainstorm’ (1965), ‘Captain Sinbad’ (1963), ‘Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze’ (1975), Greta Garbo in ‘The Kiss’ (1929), Clark Gable and Joan Crawford in ‘Possessed’ (1947) and Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers in ‘Once Upon a Honeymoon’ (1942)… plus, many more.

“With a cinematic legacy as rich and varied as that found within our library, the challenge has been to meet the voracious demand of consumers who are seeking their favorite films on DVD,” Warner Home Video marketing maven George Feltenstein said.

“Whether it’s an Academy Award-winning classic from Hollywood’s golden age, a sci-fi cult favorite from the ’70s or a silent rediscovery from the ’20s, the (collection) has something for everyone,” Feltenstein said. — HR

The collection not only includes Warner titles, but also will include titles from MGM and RKO. Warner’s immediate plans are to expand this selection by about 20 titles per month, initially reaching a selection of 300 movies and TV shows available exclusively through this online portal by the end of 2009.

As an accompanying enticement for movie geeks, Warner will be an iTunes podcast series called ‘The Golden Age of Hollywood’ whereas fans will be exposed to previously unseen goodies like archived interviews and more.

[source: Hollywood Reporter]